Tag: summer group show

Kathleen Ryan in ‘Fruiting Bodies’ at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery’s summer group show ‘Fruiting Bodies,’ curated by Sam Rauch, the gallery’s Director of Commissions and Special Projects, showcases art projects that focus on food, from beer to fungi.  Here, Kathleen Ryan uses nearly two dozen semi-precious stones to construct a rotting lemon.  Known for creating interest in what appear to be everyday objects through dramatic shifts in scale (memorably, a necklace composed of bowling balls at Arsenal Gallery), here Ryan also creates tension between alluring materials and repellent decay.  (On view in Chelsea through July 29th).

Kathleen Ryan, Bad Lemon (Eclipse), aventurine, serpentine, ruby in zoisite, amethyst, labradorite, hematite, carnelian, tiger eye, brecciated jasper, tektite, citrine, agate, sesame jasper, snowflake obsidian, amazonite, quartz, smoky quartz, pyrite, moonstone, lava rock, onyx marble, marble, glass, steel pins on coated polystyrene, 16 x 18 x 16 inches, 2020.

Allison Katz in ‘Plus One’ at Luhring Augustine

Two fabulously colored fighting cockerels by London-based painter Allison Katz dominate Luhring Augustine’s summer group show.  Titled ‘Noli Me Tangere!’ or ‘don’t touch me’ after Christ’s post-resurrection instruction to Mary Magdalene, the birds seem less about divine mystery than hysterical escalation of conflict.  Flowing feathers create dynamic patterns, echoing the clouds in the sky and lending beauty and urgency to a scene both captivating and absurd.  (On view in Chelsea through August 6th.)

Allison Katz, Noli Me Tangere!, oil, acrylic and rice on canvas, 78 ¾ x 86 5/8 inches, 2021.

William J. O’Brien in ‘A Thought Sublime’ at Marianne Boesky Gallery

Inspired by unschooled art and experimentation, artist and School of the Art Institute of Chicago ceramics professor William J. O’Brien presents a cluster of 42 ceramic spheres celebrating nonconformity and variety in Marianne Boesky Gallery’s summer group show.  Titled ‘Earth, Water, Fire, Wind & Space, Pt. 1,’ the installation is literally grounded yet aims to take the mind beyond the everyday.  (On view in Chelsea through Aug 6th).

William J. O’Brien, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Space, Pt. 1, ceramic, dimensions variable, 42 ceramics, 2021.

John Kelsey in ‘Landscapes’ at Marlborough Gallery

A phenomenal landscape meets a monumental project to collect data at mind-boggling expense ($1b+) in John Kelsey’s pretty watercolor of an NSA Data Center in Williams, Utah. (At Marlborough Gallery through July 29th).

John Kelsey, NSA Data Center, Camp Williams, UT, watercolor, mounted on aluminum, 12 ¼ x 16 1/8 inches, 2013.
John Kelsey, NSA Data Center, Camp Williams, UT, watercolor, mounted on aluminum, 12 ¼ x 16 1/8 inches, 2013.

Zach Bruder in ‘Record Lines This Summer’ at Magenta Plains

‘Record Lines this Summer,’ a group show at Magenta Plains Gallery, takes its title from the delays expected at TSA airport checkpoints in July and August. In that context, Zach Bruder’s painting of Father Time holding a shoe up for contemplation takes on new meaning…is this shoe going to set off an alarm, or is he suggesting walking as a better mode of transport?

Zach Bruder, Monument Around, acrylic and flashe on linen, 52 x 58.5 inches, 2016.
Zach Bruder, Monument Around, acrylic and flashe on linen, 52 x 58.5 inches, 2016.